Somebody give Shaad Ali a second chance!

The ways of film industry financing and personal relations are always a puzzle to me, as an outsider occasionally peeking in and trying to make sense of all of it. I understand that Shaad Ali, son of Muzaffar Ali (director of the original Umrao Jaan as well as a lot of documentaries) had a hit with Bunty aur Babli and continued his relationship with YRF with Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, which was a commercial and a critical failure, despite being quite a serviceable movie. But I'm still astounded that he's not directed anything since, and has clearly moved to work behind the scenes, back in Mani Ratnam's crew, working the assistant director's job.

Is nobody willing to give this guy a second chance? Clearly JBJ was a bit excessive - wild in more ways than one, and the story perhaps unnecessarily twisty, but that's partly why it gained its (dare I call it) cult following. It's a funky little film with charm. BAB is not perfect, either, but charmed audiences, and most of us who love the movie don't even care for the Kajra Re item number. 

And if JBJ was excessive, well, isn't this the cinema of excess? If it isn't, explain Karan Johar to me. I rest my case.

Like them or find them mediocre at best, it's hard to deny that Shaad Ali's films had style and flavour. He gave Abhishek Bachchan some of his career's funniest performances. I understand YRF wanted to give new directors opportunities, and given their success at bringing fresh talent to the foray, I appreciate that, but Shaad Ali didn't deserve to be kicked out of the stable, I don't think.

And critics would do well to re-visit JBJ, because if this quirky charmer of a film is what a bad film looks like, then I'd like to see more "bad" films made, thank you very much.

Let's talk about ... Lara Dutta!

The "Let's talk about" series is typically one where I just get to ramble about my favourite actresses and actors for a post, and feature some lovely pictures of them to boot. But I can't quite honestly claim I consider Lara Dutta a favourite. Or do I?

The fact is, this former pagent queen is a consistent positive surprise in my books, but her filmography is filled with movies I just don't really want to watch. I first saw Lara in No Entry, which was the biggest hit of 2005 (yeah, bet you didn't remember that fact, did'ja?). The film itself is an absolutely unbearably unfunny Salman Khan comedy that also has Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan (remember him?) as two hapless husbands and one cheating playboy (can you guess who Salman plays?) in another one of those "oh ha ha isn't cheating-except-not-cheating hilarious?" genre comedies. Lara is a gross stereotype of a mistrusting wife of Anil's character, and yet she won me over.

Then there are films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom which is fairly unpopular (depending on who you talk to), but which I absolutely loved her in! Chalo Dilli is a nice smaller film, too.




Billu Barber gave Lara a fair opportunity to showcase her acting alongside the always magnificent Irffan, and she was definitely good in it. (Overall the film is my favourite from Priyadarshan, the only Hindi film he seems to have actually put some thought and effort into.)

However, about 80% of her career seems to be special appearances or random big cast dumb comedies, or just horrendous flops like Blue and Zinda. I have to wonder, as I do with many actresses and actors who just can't seem to catch a break no matter how much I personally enjoy them on-screen, what gives? Is she just not an actress good enough to be seriously considered for more substantial roles? Is she unpopular in B-town? Or is she, now that she's married, just actively cutting down work to focus on raising a family? Does she just enjoy making big cast dumb comedies where she forms a mere fraction of the insanity?

I haven't got the slightest clue, but the point is, I like her. And I really wish she was in more things I actually wanted to watch. But if she's moving to family life (and seems to get replaced by younger actresses, because that's sadly the way the world works...), I of course respect that choice, but can't help but feel a little annoyed. Something about her choices in films makes me feel like she never got her fair due.

IFAC #22: My top five of Bollywood heroes.

I wrote a post about my favourite heroines nearly two years ago and decided to finally work out a top five ..ish of my favourite heroes. This one was arguably a lot harder to make. It bears mentioning that since male characters are at the forefront of pretty much every film, they tend to also be better-written and developed and simply more interesting. So this list was pretty much impossible to compose and I had to leave out a bunch of characters I love. I suppose more accurately this could be "top five of my favourites right on this moment", as it might look different if I typed it two months from now, or even tomorrow.

In no particular order.

Amar from Andaz Apna Apna

I know you're all thinking, what, seriously? Yes. Seriously. Heroes come in all sorts; ranging from pacifist to violent, poetic to plain-spoken, funny to serious, but rarely are they as mistakenly ambitious and as absolutely certain of themselves as Amar is. He's an absolute riot as the selfish, cocky, confident bewakoof (fool) that he is, and I love him for it. I think more often than not, my love for an actor boils down to one role that I absolutely loved them in, and for Aamir it's probably this one. I liked a lot of what I saw of him after AAA, but Amar was something else. Truly.

Raj from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Oh how cliché of me. But as I've said before, Raj is the reason I will always love Shahrukh on some level, even if I don't understand what his biggest fans see in him, or why he's king over all others. There's something so great and simple about this character - he's an inconsiderate goof but learns to be more than that, and ends up being the quintessential romantic hero. And he maintains that sense of humor throughout the movie. It's just wonderful.

Rikki from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
and
Bunty/Rakesh from Bunty aur Babli

Two Abhishek Bachchan characters get to share this spot simply because I couldn't really choose between them. BaB was the film where I knew I had to see more of this actor, but both roles sort of encapture why I love Abhishek so much. They're both funny, goofy characters, but terribly lovable because of it. The sort of roles I think Abhishek was truly meant for .. though I don't want to undermine the quality of his serious roles, either.

Santosh from Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana

The more I think about the parameters of this post, the more characters I want to include. It's tough, especially considering how I now notice similarities between these heroes; they all seem to be carved out of the same tree. Most of them are more funny than romantic, which is exactly the kind of thing I don't mind at all. NVNN takes from DDLJ and Maine Pyaar Kiya, both movies I really enjoyed. I'm not sure how much Santosh as a character takes from Prem and Raj, but I do know I love him, at all stages of his journey, from the hyper child to the determined young man.

What's interesting is that I also noticed how similar my favourite heroine characters were - and how no film, at least according to these lists, has both my favourite heroine types and my favourite hero types in them. I guess it's all about how a film is a driven by one character. The heroines I named definitely seemed to be driving the story in their films - at least in some ways. In other instances, the hero is usually the one who the film is centered around. Sometimes it's pretty much equal between the two (like BaB).

Let's talk about ... Preity Zinta!

Yes, the first lady to be featured on the "Let's talk about" series (also known as the "I have nothing else of interest to post about" series) is Preity Zinta. It was a few days back that I got to thinking how Preity is an odd favourite of mine; I used to not like her and then slowly, without there being any particular moment of realization, she became a favourite. I've not seen all of her film catalogue, far from it, really, but I think I've more or less seen the quintessential Preity films, so let's talk.

She debuted in Dil Se, not the least interesting film to debut in. Her role of course was minor and therefore really didn't leave an impact on me, which I suppose can be said about all of my first films with her. Curiously enough, all of those films had her star opposite Shahrukh Khan. Veer-Zaara and Kal Ho Naa Ho aren't the worst movies out there, and I think she's quite alright in both roles, but something about her in all of these three films left me cold. A lot has been said about their jodi, and I don't want to rag on it, if partly because I know the biggest Preity-Shahrukh fan, Anita, might be reading this post! Let's just say I think it's not so much a fault of the jodi, but that the movies - as movies - left me unimpressed.

But as I watched more of Preity, I was struck by how consistent her work was. Even in a part-trainwreck like Kya Kehna she gives a memorable performance. Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, despite having two other major stars in it, managed to become all Preity's by the "The End" screen. The tragic romance between her and Hrithik in Mission Kashmir was without a doubt the best thing in the movie as far as I'm concerned.

Preity did not always blow me away, but she always did so good I couldn't not like her. And like that, little by little, I became a fan.

I suppose the tragedy of Preity nowadays is that she's not the most sought out actress in Bollywood, though there are so many reasons why she could (and perhaps should!) be. In fact, when I thought about making this post, I had to consciously decide not to let it drift into Rant Zone by detailing why it upsets me so much that box office success decides how much work the star gets offered. The latest three films by her that I've seen, I've simply adored her in all of them:

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna certainly was not great, but Preity's role in it was without a doubt one of my favourite things about it. Then there was Jaan-e-Mann, a flawed but funny, endearing movie alongside Akshay and Salman. And of course, my biggest favourite of the three, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where we finally got to witness the Abhi-Preity jodi and it fully rocked the house.

Then Preity became busy managing a cricket team and thanks to the non-success of JEM and JBJ, she probably wasn't getting a ton of offers. Thankfully the lady has a few movies coming out, and while Heroes and Har Pall do not look the most enticing films to come out in the future, it's definitely better than nothing.

God made man, tailor made gentleman. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

I rewatched Jhoom Barabar Jhoom this evening because despite the criticisms voiced against it, I just find it friggin' delightful. At the core of the movie for me are our NRI main characters, Rikki (Abhishek Bachchan being both hilariously exaggerated and at the same time genuine) and Alvira (Preity Zinta being charming and wonderful), who get to chatting after waiting for a late train at London's Waterloo station and end up narrating their own love stories to one another. Three or so song numbers later, of course, there's a twist.

The thing is, a part of wants to look at JBJ as meta-Bollywood. Rikki and Alvira are kids brought up on movies (despite her claim that she also watches "foreign language movies", Alvira surely has to be a Bollywood/Hollywood film buff at heart!), which is why their love stories are like movies in a movie, exaggerated and glamourized and of course, interwoven with song and dance sequences. Next to this, we have a bunch of other filmi references, fun performances and the delicious send up to the audience is ready to serve. Think the crackiness of Jaan-e-Mann put into the blender of the colorful world of Bunty Aur Babli, placed at Southall and you get Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

And yet what I love about the characters of Rikki and Alvira is that they're both very, for the lack of a better word, ordinary. Which is to say, they're rather British-thinking NRI young adults, both stubborn and bold and most importantly, similar. Despite the fantastical anything-can-happen world they paint for themselves, in reality they're just Girl Next Door and Boy Next Door of Southall.

To say much more is to spoil most of the deliciousness of the movie, so instead I'll talk about random points of interest. I'll be frank here: I've only seen Lara Dutta in two movies, this one and No Entry and she always surprises me! I expected her to be wooden but she turned out to be one of the few positive things I had to say about No Entry and in this movie, she simply rocks. If she got more good role opportunities, I have a feeling she could outdo the other Bollywood beauty pageant winners no problem. Something about her makes me think of a modern day Zeenat Aman. Also? Her French-accented Hindi is one of the awesomest things in the movie.

I would have similar things to say about Bobby Deol, who I was also surprised by, but I'm still not too excited about him. If his career continues to include funny side roles, though, I'll keep an eye out. Meanwhile the Dharmendra fan in me just sighs and shakes its head..

The songs of this film are so much fun, both visually and audially. Towards the end of the film there is a seemingly never-ending parade of musical numbers and while I got very tired of seeing Amitabh Bachchan's special appearance(s as he keeps popping up!) even on the first watch, other songs are a rewatch-treat. The camerawork on "Ticket to Hollywood" is delightful and "Bol na halke halke" is just all-around gorgeous.

The jodi of Preity-Abhishek fills me with glee. Not only are they stupendously pretty together in this film (Preity especially), their chemistry is just adorable and I think their real life friendship (check out the episode of Koffee with Karan season 1 with the two of them for proof!) really helped with that. It makes me so sad Preity is not given that much movie opportunities nowadays. Bollywood producers need to wake up and stop signing those damned Katrinas and Priyankas. Preity's dimpled smile acts better than some of these newcomers.

And then there's Abhishek, whose dorky antics as Rikki Thukral should've made everybody and anybody go, "Kya kehre ho?" (Whatchyasayin?) and "I got class!" for three weeks minimum after watching this movie. I always tend to forget how much I love Abhishek and then I see a movie with him, or rewatch an old movie with him and re-realize that love again. His comic timing and facial expressiveness is excellent here, and even though I guess he's doing all kinds of cinema nowadays, I hope we see him in another comedy sometime soon.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is a somewhat calculated movie that failed to interest people at the box office. There is no determining the tastes of audiences at large, I suppose, but for me and plenty of others, JBJ is just a fun Bollywood extravaganza. It's a little mocking, a little self-referential, but not to the extent of Om Shanti Om and its plot bears a few twists, but nothing incredibly complex.

Filmi year 2007.

Aata - my film of the year.

2007 was quite an interesting year in films for me. I felt like there was a dry season between the early months of the year and the final months of it. This meant a large portion of my year was destined to be quite Bollyless (or more correctly, Indian cinema-less). I blame the films I anticipated - Guru and Eklavya were both enormous letdowns, and while I liked the former to buy on DVD and should buy the latter for Saif collection, the combination of unexciting Bollywood and the discovery of something new in East-Asian entertainment made me completely abandon Bollywood for a while.

I did still watch movies - when Siddharth's 2006 hit Bommarillu finally got a DVD release, I rushed to watch it and ended up loving it. But that was on the Telugu side of things, of course, and for months the movie was the only Indian film I saw.

So what drew me back in? Ironically, it wasn't Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, though the film was one of my biggest favourites this year. It wasn't Life in a ..Metro, another 07 movie I saw during this period of unenthusiasm. It wasn't even the Dharmendra starrer oldie I watched, Mera Gaon Mera Desh aka Vinod Khanna Is the Gabbar Singh of Sexy. The movie that drew me back into Bollywood in 2007 was ... drumroll please ..

Ek Hasina Thi!


Quite randomly I decided to show another Indian film to my friend who was coming to town, and had seen select favourites of mine (ranging from Bunty aur Babli to Sholay). I considered my pick, then grabbed EHT and went my way. My friend was critical of the movie, unfairly so in my view, but more importantly, I enjoyed my umpteenth viewing of it. And when I returned home, I sort of sat down and asked myself, "Hey, why did you ever drop out of Bollywood happenings?"

I made a list of recent movies I ought to watch and rushed to see EHT director's new film, Johnny Gaddaar, starring some newbie and Dharmendra. I expected to see a lacking movie, thinking maybe Ek Hasina Thi had been a fluke but what I got was quite something else..

Johnny Gaddaar is deliciously clever, awesomely edited and unpredictable like you wouldn't believe. It's also violent and a tribute to the noir genre, which is also fantastic. A tale of deceit truly done right. You know who betrayed who from the get go, but the way the story is told makes the ride enjoyable. Here's my longer review on Livejournal (slight spoilers in the last half of it).

In 2007 I also made this blog, listed my Top 10 Indian actors and did a massive update to my guide to Bollywood for complete newbies.

My favourites this year, by the way, are the J-films; Jab We Met, Johnny Gaddaar, and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The film I fell most in love with, though? Aata all the way.

And as always, the year doesn't feel quite over yet. I've yet to see a bunch of 07 biggies, from Chak De India! to Tara Zameen Par.

Oh well. Maybe this year.